B, Epiphany 1 - Mark 1:9-11, Psalm 29:1-4,9c-11 "Waters Below, Waters Above"

Psalm 29 1-4,9c-11(NIV) Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendour of his holiness. 3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters. 4 The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic. 9C ...And in his temple all cry, "Glory!" 10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever. 11 The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.

Water is the essential element of creation. The human body is mostly made up of water. The earth is covered with water. All of creation needs water to exist.

Without water everything dries up and dies. The land no longer produces, and all living organisms eventually return to dust without water. Water is powerful in its absence. Without it everything stops.

However, too much water is also a force with which to be reckoned. Water unleashed in torrents of rain and hail can cause major damage to life and property. Floods and tsunamis are waters in mass proportion and they can cause more havoc on earth than just about anything else.

Water can carry people and their possessions great distances in boats, but water can also carry cholera and other devastating diseases to people who drink the contaminated supply. Looking at an insignificant glass of water, it's hard to imagine this tasteless, colourless, and odourless stuff can be so powerful or dangerous over creation when there is too much or too little of it.

God is more powerful than the biggest waters of creation; he is to be feared more than the lack of water too. God is omnipotent; the power of water is no match for his voice, for his word. God was there before creation; with his word he placed boundaries around water and the darkness it bore making it a blessing to his creation.

The Lord in his almighty power stands over the water, using it to wash the earth in Noah's time, using it to wash people in repentance in John the Baptist's day. With water the Lord cleanses his creation, and with water he brings peace to his people.

If God is above the waters, if he stands over the waters, and he wills the waters of the earth below, how is it that Jesus Christ, God the Son, places himself under the waters of the Jordan River, baptised by John?

At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." (Mark 1:9-11 NIV)

What was the purpose of Jesus' baptism? John preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. From what did Jesus need to repent? What sin had the Son of God committed? After all, this is the Son of the Father from eternity on whom the Holy Spirit descended and the Father said, "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."

From Genesis 1 we hear...

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. (Genesis 1:1-4 NIV)

Likewise from John's Gospel we hear...

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. (John 1:1-4 NIV)

The Word, who was with God from the beginning, who is God, and, who made all things, now descends down into the water as a man. This man made the waters over which the Spirit hovered in the beginning, over which the glorious Word of God thundered in all majesty and power. So why did the Word made flesh, the One and Only Son of God descend down into the waters, waters which he had created and placed boundaries around at the beginning?

If Jesus were just a man we would understand why he might be baptised by John in the Jordan. However, he is revealed to be God's Son, in whom is the life that is the light of creation and we who live in it. It makes no sense that God would place himself under the waters of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

But this event is significant in Jesus' ministry on earth and for us too. So much so that God tore heaven open and his voice was heard and Jesus saw the Spirit descend on him. Jesus' baptism was no accident and its importance is paramount for this man who would carry the sins of world to the cross, and for us who through this man have received life in adoption as Son's of God.

The tranquil waters of peace which God destined to flow in us became disrupted by sin. In us churns the turmoil of pre-creation chaos and darkness. The same darkness that churned the earth in Noah's day; the same darkness of sin that John the Baptist baptised for repentance and forgiveness of sin.

Jesus came bearing all power and peace and descended into the waters of death and destruction. His baptism was one into death that finished at the cross. God was pleased in Christ at his baptism in the same way he is pleased at your baptism. At baptism you were washed and plunged into the death of Christ, and having been brought up out of the water, God looks on you as his Son.

God placed his Son on the cross; he immersed him into the turmoil of sin, darkness, and death. The soldier took a spear and plunged it into his side and from the Word made flesh gushed water and blood for the cleansing of creation and for you and me. God cleanses creation and brings peace - Body & Blood, Water & the Word made flesh!

God now places Christ with you - in you! His Spirit has descended upon you in baptism just as the Spirit rested on him. Jesus Christ is all powerful over creation, over all chaos; bring tranquillity to the storms we endure in this life. He can even bring peace to storms you create in this life.

Our help is in the name of the Lord, he made heaven and earth. He walks with us, in us! In us is life, and that life is the light of Christ. The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic. The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever. The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.

And in his temple all cry, "Glory!" Amen.